Her reprimand comes in the run-up to a government decision about criminalising forced marriages in Germany, after a recommendation from the upper house of parliament on July 8 that the practice be banned.

The symposium provided a forum for women activists from primarily Muslim-majority countries to discuss their experiences facing challenges and creating effective strategies to eliminate violence against women.

Amal was the victim of a so-called 'summer' or 'tourist' marriage, as Yemenis call the unwittingly temporary unions which are having a negative impact on religiously and culturally conservative Yemen society.

Professor Yakin Ertürk, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes and consequences, issued the following statement in Kabul today at the end of a visit to Afghanistan.